Parking a personal vehicle in large cities is a difficult task worldwide. This is so because the economics do not provide incentive for the erection of final or permanent multi-level parking structures because of land values in the downtown areas of such cities.
Generally, however, there is no absence of available locations to place parking structures. This is so because land prices or business conditions do not yet warrant a permanent building on the location. As a result, empty lots may exist and these lots are usually turned into interim parking lots having, of course, only one ground level parking area. While parking structures having multi-level parking are certainly known, these structures are intended to be permanent which is disadvantageous when economic conditions improve.
Vehicle pickup and removal systems are known which use a laterally and horizontally movable conveying system such as a movable vehicle table. Such systems, however, can only be extended a limited distance from the vehicle conveying position and involve mechanisms within the storage structure itself with the result that more complicated motion mechanisms are usually required to allow for the full movement of the vehicle from its conveying position to its delivery position.
Elevators for moving vehicles vertically a distance more than two floors are also known. Such elevators may be either hydraulically or electrically operated. If the elevator is hydraulically operated, it is raised and lowered by the use of a telescoping hydraulic cylinder which cannot extend beyond three or four stories. If the elevator is electrically operated, one electric motor is used for each elevator. Such motors are prone to control problems and are unnecessarily expensive.